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Linksys wrt54g and airport express bridge

excalibur313

excalibur313

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 7, 2003
787
15
Chicago, IL
I know that there have been a lot of threads about this but i'm trying to make one that unifies them all. I've read lots of posts and i see that no one has made a really clear step by step method of doing this so i hope we can come to one here:
I would like to connect a computer to the ethernet port of the airport express and have that wirelessly connect to the linksys wrt54g i have upstairs. As I understand it the only way I can do that is by bridging the two routers together using WDS. Unfortunately the only way that this can be done officially is by having an airport extreme router instead of the linksys one I have. Since I have no intention of getting a new router unless I have to, I found that if I update the firmware of the linksys router to one that was developed by a third party (and not supported by linksys at all, thus voiding the practically non existant warranty). You can get a free version of this firmware here:
http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=8
and there is also a version for wrt54gs. If you want to pay $20 you can get a newer version but I don't think that there is a difference for our purposes (although correct me if I'm wrong).
To install the firmware:
1) Type in the router IP of the linksys router (you can get this by going to system preferences, network, airport, tcp/ip and then look next to router (the default is 192.168.1.1) The default password is admin with no username.
2)Click on the administration tab, then firmware update, then select the firmware file and update. (you should make sure you are physically connected because the update MUST finish)
3) Once it is updated you can change settings on the linksys:
a)Go to the wireless tab, then WDS. Under first place to type in mac addresses type in the mac address of the airport express (you can do this by plugging in the airport express and going through the quick setup (don't worry if it doesn't finish because you just want to be able to access it through airport admin utility and looking at it on the right of the screen). Make sure to set the tab next to the mac address to lan. Then disable lazy WDS and WDS Subnet.
b) click on the security tab and then click on firewall and turn it off and uncheck block anonymous internet requests.
c) click on the administration tab then management and turn off loopback
d) finally under wireless and then basic settings change the channel to 1.

I'm not sure how to set up mac addresses for the airport express (except to join the linksys network.) What should i do next to enable bridging so that I can hook up my computer to the ethernet port of the airport express and connect on the internet? (ideally i'd like to enable the antenna on the airport express so i could increase the range of my network)
Thank you very much,
Stephen
 
Here is exactly what i did:

Bridging and the Linksys WRT54G


Sure, Apple says the Express will only do bridging with AirPort Base Stations. That's because WDS is not a standardized part of the 802.11g spec. However, being the inquisitive types that we are here at Ars, we knew we had to see for ourselves. Was the limitation a case of Apple stubbornness, technical limitations, or some proprietary technology used by Apple to enable bridging between two Apple wireless products?


We can report that it will work with the Linksys WRT54G 802.11g router. The procedure for getting it working involves using the open source firmware and is fairly straightforward. But it's not for the faint of heart: keep in mind that if you do update using the open source firmware, you will find your router outside the tender embrace of Linksys customer support.


First off, you may need to update the firmware in your WRT54G. You can find version 4.0 here. After that you'll need to provide the MAC address for the Express, turn lazy WDS and the WDS subnet off. Then set the channel to one, turn off loopback and the firewall, and set "ignore anonymous requests" to off. Then use the Airport Admin Utility to configure your Express. Set it to join the existing Linksys network. Add the Express' MAC address to the network and change the network name and password on the Express to match the Linksys. If you're using a 128-bit hex passphrase, be sure to preface it with a $.


After following the above procedure we were all set.
The link is http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=8

So, you have that right.

Make sure the router is HARDWIRED when you update the firmware.
As for MAC addresses, go to system profiler and you can get your Macintosh MAC, and Airport MAC, its also printed on the label on the outside of the basestation.

I then ran Airport Exp[ress Assistent and selected the extend network option, it gave my a list of available networks, I choose the Linksys and it worked.

excalibur313 said:
So what do you guys think? I'm really at my witts end trying to figure out how this works.
Thanks,
Stephen
Click to expand...
 
I followed those instructions and had success.
Although a different approach may help in your case. But for me, I installed firmware, and extended my network and my upstairs was not wireless.

excalibur313 said:
Actually that doesn't work....you cannot set it to join the network but to make your own....Here is a link:
http://ryanschwartz.net/2004/08/05/airtunes-airport-express-and-the-wrt54g

that actually tells you how to do it the right way.
Stephen
Click to expand...
 
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